The Delhi Court declined the petition by BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Singh that he should be further prosecuted for his alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers. A petition demanding further investigations into the case was filed by the Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Priyanka Rajpoot of Rouse Avenue Courts against the rejection of the petition. The court is expected to open charges on the matter on May 7.
Earlier, April 18 being the date, the court came with a postponement of the order on framing the charges till May 9, when the BJP MP had already presented the fresh application. This particular application was used to ask the court to extend the defence time to legitimately ensure that all the possible arguments are presented and the charges are further investigated. He indicated his non-visit to India during the time period of the other incident as a reason for being excused. At stake is a case wherein the complainer is accused of harassing the officials of WFI at their office.
Singh’s lawyer argued that the telephonic records of the coach’s phone received consideration by the Delhi police. The statements in these reports say that they frequented the WFI office on September 07, 2022, that is, the date of the stated incident), leading to the molestation charge.
Such an action represents a part of the course of the court case on the subject of sexual harassment against Singh. The court’s decision to reject the request for more investigations indicates that it seems like a case is now moving towards charging framing.
The allegations made against Singh have opened the sports sector to a large-scale debate on sexual harassment that has risen within the sports organisations. As a previous president of WFI, Singh’s case has widespread importance beyond his personal legal status. Issues of transparency, integrity, and accountability are now taking centre stage and will continue to be debated more fervently within sports Governing bodies.
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